Results 2,021-2,040 of 4,810 for speaker:Liam Twomey

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (3 Jun 2010)

Liam Twomey: With regard to the Civil Partnership Bill, how would people feel if members of my profession or the nursing profession decided not to treat patients on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation or religious persuasion? It would be completely unworkable. Members who are making speeches in this House must be a little more practical in their comments. Not agreeing with carrying out...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Jun 2010)

Liam Twomey: In the health supplement with yesterday's The Irish Times there was an article on the need for this country to set up its own umbilical cord blood bank. I ask the Leader to arrange a debate on the issue because umbilical cord blood can be used to cure many childhood leukaemias, but there are also major prospects of developing the IT sector in that regard because this is high end stuff. We...

Seanad: Whistleblowing in the Financial Sector: Statements (2 Jun 2010)

Liam Twomey: I would have been more impressed with the Minister of State's speech if he had focused on how we could overcome the problems he mentioned. For instance, he should have focused on what problems have been encountered in the United Kingdom where the Public Interest Disclosure Act of 1998 has been in place for the past 12 years. Could that legislation be transposed into Irish law? The whole...

Seanad: Whistleblowing in the Financial Sector: Statements (2 Jun 2010)

Liam Twomey: I refer to all of the things about which he has been talking. When Senators Ross and Norris speak later in this debate, I am sure they will be able to talk about their experiences and say where this can work. I do not believe the issues mentioned by the Minister of State cannot be overcome. We need to focus on the financial sector. Commercially sensitive information could easily be...

Seanad: Euro Area Loan Facility Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 May 2010)

Liam Twomey: I move amendment No. 1: In page 4, line 16, to delete "year" and substitute "quarter". When we spoke on Second Stage earlier, we said we should consider a new way of doing business. The Government should be as open as possible in responding to this House, not just with regard to this Bill but in many other aspects of budgetary decisions that are being made and will be made in the coming...

Seanad: Euro Area Loan Facility Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 May 2010)

Liam Twomey: That is all right.

Seanad: Euro Area Loan Facility Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 May 2010)

Liam Twomey: I do not believe the commitment was as clear-cut as what the Minister of State has indicated. Following on from what Senator Alex White said, it would be welcome to see it incorporated in this legislation. If the Minister of State is saying it will be introduced in further legislation, I will not press the amendments, but it might have been more appropriate to include it in this legislation.

Seanad: Euro Area Loan Facility Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 May 2010)

Liam Twomey: No.

Seanad: Euro Area Loan Facility Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 May 2010)

Liam Twomey: I will withdraw the amendment and submit it for Report Stage.

Seanad: Euro Area Loan Facility Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 May 2010)

Liam Twomey: I move amendment No. 4: In page 4, paragraph (a), line 21, to delete "year" and substitute the following: "quarter, giving a breakdown of the aggregate in respect of each individual advancement, confirming the amount of the loan, the net disbursement amount, the term, the redemption schedule, the interest rate payable by the borrower, the funding costs for the State, the disbursement date and...

Seanad: Euro Area Loan Facility Bill 2010: Second Stage (20 May 2010)

Liam Twomey: Everyone understands Ireland's role within the European Union and within the eurozone. That said, we are also very much responsible for our future. The money markets have little trust in the euro currently because it is a currency that is under significant pressure. The story of what has happened in Ireland in recent years indicates what has gone wrong and what should have been prevented....

Seanad: Order of Business (20 May 2010)

Liam Twomey: Yes.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 May 2010)

Liam Twomey: I seek a full-day debate on issues related to crime. It is amazing to read how a serial rapist can get an apartment, paid for by the HSE, in a complex where several young women are living, yet they have no indication that this individual is living among them. We should examine how we have ended up in a situation where a 21 year old gets convicted for involvement in a very serious crime,...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 May 2010)

Liam Twomey: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Construction Contracts Bill 2010: Second Stage (19 May 2010)

Liam Twomey: It is interesting to ask ourselves why this Bill is an issue now and why it has not cropped up in the past. Subcontractors have been telling me horror stories for years. I refer to the case of a subcontractor who informed me he walked off the site of a development where he was working because he was not being paid properly. This was several years ago when things were still relatively good....

Seanad: Ombudsman for Children Report on Children First Guidelines: Statements (19 May 2010)

Liam Twomey: Some of the comments made to me with regard to the problems in this area suggest that some problems are surmountable and should be examined. We need to examine, for example, how services are organised. There is, for instance, an ongoing industrial dispute in the old eastern health board region which contributes to some of the problems raised with regard to how social workers deal with...

Seanad: Role of Broadcasting Authority of Ireland: Statements (18 May 2010)

Liam Twomey: One interesting aspect to a debate on the BAI is it shows the way broadcasting works in Ireland at this time. We have broadcasting at a local level and at a multimedia macro level and in effect we are trying to make both types fit into the same space. That is not really possible, however. I do not believe local radio stations need to be as over-regulated as they are. They are not purely...

Seanad: Role of Broadcasting Authority of Ireland: Statements (18 May 2010)

Liam Twomey: There is a clear need for the Minister to outline his reasons for taking this decision, because it may be seen as merely populist. The only real beneficiary of this decision has been RTE, which is funded by the Minister. There is a need to open the issue a little more. The ethos of the BAI will develop over time and we will see what it becomes. I hope its ethos is that of an open-minded...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 May 2010)

Liam Twomey: The institutions of this State protected its citizens in times gone by when it was under far more serious threat as compared to what happened outside the gates of Leinster House last Tuesday night. What gives individuals such as that legitimacy, however, and an acceptance for a wider audience is the perception that we, as Members of the Oireachtas, are doing nothing. To follow up on what...

Seanad: Public Service Agreement 2010-2014: Statements (13 May 2010)

Liam Twomey: This report contains words such as "procedures", "protocols", "productivity", "performance" and "policy", which I am sure are familiar to seasoned negotiators, as pointed out by Senator O'Toole. We are also seeing words like "restructuring", "flexibility", "reconfiguration" and "consultation". Unfortunately and like the report to some degree, these are sterile. They fail to convey the...